Six steps to get your creative mojo back

I’ve been feeling a lack of idea flow on great marketing topics to write about for the past few weeks. Have you felt the same? The holiday insanity is behind us, the cold where I am has been pretty crushing so barn and fresh air time has been cancelled or feels like a slog and I have been on a crazy travel schedule. Sound like excuses?

Well, if I’m like you, your creativity is not a tap that can be turned on and off and as a marketer, you already know the importance of being consistent with all of your visibility efforts.

So what’s a creative to do? Today I’m giving you my six tested and tried steps to get your brain back in gear and get the ideas flowing to promote your service, product line or brand if you’ve been stuck in winter hibernation mode for too long.

1. Get out of your routine. Nothing beats having a new view on the commute, a visit to a museum, park or anyplace that is not familiar. Bonus points if you can actually schedule a getaway or a long weekend someplace warm and sunny, but just setting aside some time for yourself to look around at new surroundings has been proven to highly effective for boosting creativity. Try something you’ve never done before by taking an art or craft class or trying a new recipe. I took a copper metalsmithing class and made a little bowl out of a flat disk of metal. Try archery or sewing – be curious.

2. Attend a conference. If you are lucky enough to be able to travel and meet like-minded people in your industry, this can get your motor running. For me, asking lots of questions and finding out what others opinions gets my problem-solving antenna a-buzz with new ideas and possible solutions for clients. I find that on the flight back I have to do a brain dump of all of the ideas I have spinning to keep track of them all.

3. Exercise. I’m a fan of hitting the gym late morning if I can, as the added oxygen and break from the computer screen give me a second wind for the afternoon. I’m more productive and more creative with my approaches after gym time. Even if it’s only a 20 minute dog walk so Flynn can write his name in the snow, it’s fresh air for me at the same time. On the treadmill, I can listen to podcasts that offer news and perspective on marketing trends that I can integrate. Multitasking for the win here!

4. Join a group. In Rochester, we have a peer-advisory group that meets monthly to tackle and celebrate all types of personal and professional topics that we are facing in our lives. This group is an amazing resource of professional experience and I always come back with solid advice, recharged to tackle my week. If you are an introvert like me, smaller groups work really well instead of overwhelming you in a big room of strangers.

5. Try meditation. Sometimes your head feels too busy or consumed with the worries of the day to let in new ideas. With new apps like Calm that provide short, directed meditations to start your day with a clear head, you’ll quickly feel recharged, more focused and less stressed. If that seems too hard for you, find a yoga class near you to get the same unplugged feeling while moving your bod.

6. Ask for help. I feel like busy entrepreneur personalities forget to sometimes (often) ask for help or delegate non-essential tasks. Feeling overrun is a creativity killer and a sure way to burn out on the job. Hate filing taxes? Hire it out. Don’t like to do graphic design? Find a local person to do it for you.

Bonus tip!

7. Read a favorite book from your childhood. It puts you back in your happy place, gives you perspective and may even give you an idea for an new approach, depending on the storyline. Better yet, share a copy with a child who will get to read it with you.

Any of these ideas will give you some new energy to renew your mar com efforts, restock the idea store, and clear the decks. It’s so easy to focus on the client’s needs, that we tend to forget our own and if you juggle family and work, it becomes even more important.

If you have favorite go-to ideas for lifting the winter blahs and igniting your creativity, please share with us!